Equinox, the global company and world leader in digital infrastructure trusted IPA's rich experience and high professionalism and chose us as the creators of their second high-tech data storage center in Bulgaria.
This is the first-time development of infrastructure of this type and scale in the country. The company's investment seeks to help businesses adapt more quickly and easily to digitalization and IT infrastructure transformation. The ongoing development is also expected to attract companies looking for opportunities to expand their operations to Eastern Europe and the Middle East.
The facility allows customers in the region to carry out their digital transformation strategy. The data storage center provides companies with the interconnectivity of their networks and access to leading financial, trading, manufacturing, and telecommunication storage. This is not only happening in Europe, but also in other parts of the world.
The center was built in two phases, with additional ones planned to follow. Upon completion of the first phase, the building accommodates 350 storage lockers with the option for an extra 1,100 in the following phases.
The data storage center has an area for its main activities as well as a modern administrative area designed to meet the brand's requirements. The center's building is unique from a technological point of view. The construction of the building is made with prefabricated reinforced concrete slabs with pre-stressed reinforced concrete hollow cores and monolithic areas for high loads, in compliance with the high load capacity requirements of the client. The elegant front of the building is what impresses visitors the most. It consists of a structural suspended facade in a triple-glazed glass system, with external decorative solar shading verticals installed in front, to complete the refined look. The vertical elements are visually mixed with the glazing to form an overall and harmonious impression.
The Equinix data storage center is divided into four tiers, each tier designed with a central symmetry axis. Another significant feature of the building is that its individual zones can function entirely independently of each other in an emergency. Each zone is separately powered by a different transformer and backed up by a diesel generator and UPS batteries.
In 2016, Equinix established the practice of complete ecologically-oriented energy independence at its first center in Sofia. The same principle is strictly followed in this project as well.
Our challenge in this process was to ensure the continuous operation of the building without interruption and to integrate eco-energy into it. This was the biggest challenge in the design process. The solution was the use of two power substations near the site. In addition, the center also has a UPS system that supplies power to the center for a specified time and automatically transfers it to diesel generators.
